Old glasses help poor

Charity group Community-ICare has asked the community to give their old spectacles a new lease of life by donating them to people overseas.

Community-I-Care program manager Michael Yapp said the nation-wide drive which started last month will benefit people in "our backyard".

"The glasses will be sent to people in Cambodia, the Philippines and Burma," Mr Yapp said.

The gift would make a big difference in the lives of the people, he said.

"Those who wear glasses can imagine how it would feel if they had to go without their pair."

Collection stands for the old glasses have been installed in OPSM, Laubman and Pank and Budget Eyewear across the Gold Coast.

The Elanora outlet of Laubman and Pank optometrists, manager and optometrist Bob Bowden said the response had been positive.

"It's been a slow start but people have been dropping their old glasses," Mr Bowden said.

Mr Yapp said the collection was going to be an on going event.

"We need as many glasses as we can get so we can reach as many people as possible."

All spectacles donated to Community-I-Care will be serviced and cleaned and their prescriptions measured through the stores and The Lions Club of Australia before being provided to someone with a matching requirement.

Community-I-Care has been established for three years and provides eye-care to underprivileged and remote communities in Australia and overseas.

"We are trying to improve people's lives by giving them their eyesight," Mr Yapp said.